With the lockout coming to an end, and free agency set to open up before the next Monday Morning Cornerback post, it’s time to take a look at some of the top free agents and offer a little speculation on where they might end up. This round of free agency is set to be one of the craziest in all of sports, so the odds of any of these players actually ending up where speculated is definitely far from guaranteed. I’ve already taken a look at Nnadmi Asomugha and Eric Weddle over here. With that being said, let’s get into it!
There hasn’t been a shortage of rumors surrounding Philadelphia Eagle’s safety, Quintin Mikell. He conceded earlier in the offseason that his time in Philadelphia was done, and has since been connected to the Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Texans. There’s an obvious need at safety in the latter three, and there’s a connection in Carolina with Mikell’s previous defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott.
Mikell was the top safety last year, with an even 17.0 PFF rating. He’s definitely aging like fine wine, after an 12th place finish in 2009 with a 5.4 PFF rating, and another first place finish in 2008 with a 21.3 PFF rating. Mikell has averaged over 4.5 solo tackles a game, 5.8 total tackles a game, 0.8 passes defended a game, and a sack, forced fumble, and 3 interceptions a season over the last three seasons, so he’s definitely no fantasy slouch either.
Minnesota Vikings defensive end, Ray Edwards, is at the top of lots of team’s lists. He has recently been connected to the Seattle Seahawks, who have a glaring need at defensive end, and lots of money to spend this offseason. Other potential destinations are with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons.
Edwards is definitely reaching free agency at the perfect time, as a 26 year old defensive end just reaching his prime. He has improved each of the last three seasons, from a 27th place, 7.1 PFF rating finish among 4-3 defensive ends in 2008, to a 11th place finish in 2009 with a 14.1 PFF rating, and a 7th place finish last season with a ridiculous 31.2 PFF rating. He should be on all fantasy IDP draft boards as well, as he should have a solid bounce back year. After recording over 50 total tackles in 2008 and 2009, Edwards was held to 37 last year, with 8.0 sacks and 2 passes defended. Look for him to get back to being a 50+ tackle, 8.0+ sack defensive end this season.
The top free agent defensive end, Charles Johnson, is widely expected to not be let go by the Carolina Panthers for any cost. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t teams who are looking to acquire his services. Among them are the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons.
And speaking of players who have only been improving as free agency got closer, Johnson has gone from a 25th place finish amongst 4-3 defensive ends, with a 7.6 PFF rating in 2008, to an 18th place finish, with an 8.2 PFF rating in 2009, and the anticipated monster breakout last season with a 2nd place finish and an absurd 43.8 PFF rating. Johnson saw his total tackles number jump by almost 40 from his previous career high, going from 25 to 62, and doubled his previous career high in sacks from 6 to 12. He’s an elite fantasy defensive end, and should be drafted as such.
New York Jets cornerback, Antonio Cromartie, is pretty much every team’s Plan B to the most coveted cornerback, Nnamdi Asomugha. Cromartie has stated that he loves the Jets, but is also interested in signing with the Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, and the Arizona Cardinals. This is obviously one of the tougher situations to peg.
All of the attention that Cromartie is generating is rather surprising considering he was the 117th ranked CB last season, with a -0.5 PFF rating. This comes on the heels of a 199th ranked finished in 2008, with a -18.0 PFF rating, and a 54th ranked season in 2009, with a 0.8 PFF rating. Cromartie has almost no fantasy relevance, even in the deepest of leagues. He’s only eclipsed 45 total tackles once in five seasons, and aside from his career year in 2007 where he racked up 10 interceptions, 1 touchdown, and 18 passes defended, he’s been a complete non-factor in fantasy leagues. He should be avoided in all leagues, despite the big name.
Baltimore Ravens safety, Dawan Landry, has had his name mentioned as reuniting with New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, or going to the Dallas Cowboys to play under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Recently, however, there has been some talk that the Ravens will attempt to keep Landry, which is the first that’s been heard about that possibility.
Landry finished 4th in 2010 with 10.5 PFF rating after finishing 183rd in 2009 with a -11.3 PFF rating, and 26th in 2008 with a 3.0 PFF rating in two games. So obviously consistency isn’t his strong suit, and it really looks like he played at another level during his contract year. But he’s still been a fantasy force over the last three years, averaging 4.8 solo tackles per game, 6.2 total tackles per game, and 6 passes defended per year over the last two years.
The Buffalo Bills have made it pretty clear that they plan to move on from safety, Donte Whitner. The biggest rumor circulating is that he would replace Abram Elam in Cleveland, and reunited with his former head coach, Dick Jauron, who made Whitner his first draft pick when he was the head coach in Buffalo.
Whiter has averaged a solid 4.8 solo tackles per game, 6.6 total tackles per game, and a pass defended every third game over the last three years, but these numbers are mostly inflated from the ridiculous season that he had last year. He also has 3 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles over the same span. In terms of real life value, however, he doesn’t really fit the bill of top safety, within finishes of 142nd amongst safeties, with a -3.7 PFF rating in 2008, 166th with a -5.2 PFF rating in 2009, and a 144th last year with a -3.4 PFF rating.
Questions and comments are always welcome via Twitter – @Eric_Yeomans
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